Question about processing

[muddy75]

Tuesday was our first processing experience with poultry. We used cone and knife. Very fast and humane.

 

[R2elk]

I am gonna jump in here.... when they are floppin round... do they not bruise up their wings this way? Or do you have them contained some way? I ask because we have done ours in and out of bags, hangin like you would a rabbit but every time we do them out of a feed sack the wings are so bruised from hittin somethin. He was actually thinkin bout doin it like you do with one of the toms this year but was afraid it would flop and bruise like it has the other ways.

I have not used sacks but have run electrical tape around the wings and body but for the most part my method was to simply pull the ends of the wing feathers up into my hand that was holding the legs and hold on tight. It is obviously much more difficult to hang onto a big tom than it is to hang onto a chicken.

I switched to shooting them before removing the head because age has made it much more difficult to hang on. If the bullet placement is done correctly, the turkey will drop immediately with no or a bare minimum of flopping. If the head is removed too quickly after the shot, the flopping will happen anyway.

You are correct that allowing a big bird to flop around unrestrained will cause bruising.

Another method to restrain them is to immediately jam the body into an appropriately sized bucket once the head is removed.

 

[sfgwife]

I have not used sacks but have run electrical tape around the wings and body but for the most part my method was to simply pull the ends of the wing feathers up into my hand that was holding the legs and hold on tight. It is obviously much more difficult to hang onto a big tom than it is to hang onto a chicken.

I switched to shooting them before removing the head because age has made it much more difficult to hang on. If the bullet placement is done correctly, the turkey will drop immediately with no or a bare minimum of flopping. If the head is removed too quickly after the shot, the flopping will happen anyway.

You are correct that allowing a big bird to flop around unrestrained will cause bruising.

Another method to restrain them is to immediately jam the body into an appropriately sized bucket once the head is removed.

Thank you. So wih the shot.... you hold them or hang them as you do it? Paul is an excellent shot from his previous employment...so he was thinkin of just lettin the toms out and doin them in the pasture but again was afraid of the brusing. My mama loves wings so anytime we know she likes a part we try our darndest to keep it good for her... she will eat so little of what we grow here. :/. We have never heard that takin the head will cause more floppin INTERESTING! With chickens they get the cone and knife and floppin is short but with the turks it seems like they wanna flap forever. It may be that they are just so big and unruly to hold vs small chicken? You are such an amazing lodestone! Thank you.

 

[sfgwife]

I use a cone and a very sharp knife. The key is to be calm and take your time. Once the bird is in the cone, I'll extend the neck and rub the feathers out of the way with the back of my knife. The bird will actually fall asleep in the cone most times. Then one very deliberate, deep cut. When I do it right the bird never wakes up.

ETA: I also wear a no-cut glove on my left hand.

That is how he does chickens and they might give one small jerk and that is pretty much all. He keeps his knives crazy sharp and with that one slice head is off. What cone do you have for turks if you do? We got the biggest cone last year and turks came out of it. But last year we only had the bb. So we tried the feed sack and it worked well for us. Aand thank you also for your lodestone info!

 

[Ms Biddy]

It's really the same as processing a chicken. I recommend a very big kill cone and a sharp knife. It helps if one person holds the feet to keep make sure the turkey stays in the cone.

 

[R2elk]

Thank you. So wih the shot.... you hold them or hang them as you do it? Paul is an excellent shot from his previous employment...so he was thinkin of just lettin the toms out and doin them in the pasture but again was afraid of the brusing. My mama loves wings so anytime we know she likes a part we try our darndest to keep it good for her... she will eat so little of what we grow here. :/. We have never heard that takin the head will cause more floppin INTERESTING! With chickens they get the cone and knife and floppin is short but with the turks it seems like they wanna flap forever. It may be that they are just so big and unruly to hold vs small chicken? You are such an amazing lodestone! Thank you.

I hold the turkey by his legs, let him lay on the ground and place the barrel of the revolver against the back of the head aimed directly at the brain and squeeze the trigger.

I learned by accident that there is a specific spot in a chicken's brain that if hit properly prevents any flopping at all. This discovery was by missing the neck with the hatchet and going through the chickens head with the axe about the back part of the brain. There was no flopping at all but just like with shooting the turkey, a second chop to completely remove the head without waiting a sufficient amount of time resulted in immediate flopping.

 

[rjohns39]

That is how he does chickens and they might give one small jerk and that is pretty much all. He keeps his knives crazy sharp and with that one slice head is off. What cone do you have for turks if you do? We got the biggest cone last year and turks came out of it. But last year we only had the bb. So we tried the feed sack and it worked well for us. Aand thank you also for your lodestone info!

I swear by Featherman cones, and equipment for that matter. Many if not all the pro's do too. They are pricey, but well worth it. Best I can tell the only complete round cones out there, which makes it way harder for the bird to back out. I have three of the four sizes (large turkey, small turkey, and broiler) and am saving for the gamebird stainless cones. I also have the 8 cone stand, but a hook in the side of a building, fence or tree would work just fine. We typically use two folks to get them into the cone.

One will hold them by their feet until they settle down, then the other folds the wings in and into the cone it goes (do spray the cone with vegetable oil before starting). The small turkey cone is pretty good for heritage turkeys, but every now and again I'll have one that will go through. We just swap out the cone with a broiler cone and re-cone the bird. I think I've used the large cones maybe twice?

 

[sfgwife]

I swear by Featherman cones, and equipment for that matter. Many if not all the pro's do too. They are pricey, but well worth it. Best I can tell the only complete round cones out there, which makes it way harder for the bird to back out. I have three of the four sizes (large turkey, small turkey, and broiler) and am saving for the gamebird stainless cones. I also have the 8 cone stand, but a hook in the side of a building, fence or tree would work just fine. We typically use two folks to get them into the cone.

One will hold them by their feet until they settle down, then the other folds the wings in and into the cone it goes (do spray the cone with vegetable oil before starting). The small turkey cone is pretty good for heritage turkeys, but every now and again I'll have one that will go through. We just swap out the cone with a broiler cone and re-cone the bird. I think I've used the large cones maybe twice?

Thanks! The last time wwe did meat birds paul wanted rent a setup that had everything to see how we could improve our butcher days. They had the cone stand.... he liked it but said he would want one to hold four birds instead of eight. Said eight was. Just too many for us since it is usually inly the two of us. So their cones dont have that pesky seam in them? The cones we do have do and it is just a lil more work to clean them along it.

 

[Crazydoglady99]

Interesting about cones. I thought they might be distressed being put in the cone, but apparently not

 

[rjohns39]

Interesting about cones. I thought they might be distressed being put in the cone, but apparently not

Just the opposite. Upside down relaxes them and the cone hugs them. Vast majority of my birds go to sleep in the cone without effort.